Since we've been discussing developmental quirks lately (it's either that or Project Runway, which is totally taking a back seat to this season's ANTM even without the he/she) my friend Doyce told me about this crazy developmental hiccup thing the other day. At first I thought he was talking about metaphorical hiccups, but no:
Here's the thing with hiccups: little kids (up through like 2 years) grow SO FAST that their internal organs actually shift into slightly wrong places as they suddenly get more room. Hiccuping is the body's natural adjustment mechanism: all those little muscle spasms work all the interior squishy bits back to where they're supposed to be in the roomy new apartment of Baby.
So generally, hiccups = growth spurts, which = crazy appetite increase, possibly weird sleep (although honestly, from what I've read of your adventures, I don't know if you've ever gotten a 'normal' baseline to work from), and all the kinds of stuff that comes with a growth spurt. After the growing is done, there's around a month or so of him not being nearly as hungry and more attempts to figure out his body and such... and so it goes.
I have to say, right before the sleep regression the boy went through a hiccuping mania. Am I the last to know about this insanity?
4 comments:
Never heard of that, but that's not saying much. It makes sense, I guess. I'll have to be more aware of when my kids hiccup.
PS. What does it mean when adults hiccup?
Good question. Doyce?
Basically, hiccups are caused in kids and adults by the same thing: air (or just space) in the wrong places in the body.
It tends to happen a lot MORE with kids, cuz they're growing so fast so the stuff just happens naturally.*
With adults, you tend to see hiccups come on as a result of mild dehydration, eating too fast, going hungry for long, very hot or spicy food (depending on the person), major laughing or coughing or crying fits (sobbing gulps of air cause air to enter the stomach instead of the lungs -- another reason little kids can get hiccups).
* - There's a silly urban legend that reverses the medical facts and claims that hiccups cause growth spurts -- correct association of the two events, but reversed cause/effect.
Let's hear it for Doyce! Awesome with the info, mister.
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